Each week, First We Feast photographer Liz Barclay (@liz_barclay) grabs her camera and hits the streets to explore a different aspect of the food world. Here, she shares her photos and stories.

White truffle season is upon us, which means that chefs are giddily unpacking shipments of the worth-its-weight-in-gold fungi, and high-rollers are scouring menus for that ever-tantalizing “truffle supplement.”

Often called Alba truffles, in reference to the prime truffle-harvesting area in Piedmont, white truffles go for more than $1,000 a pound, and most dishes need less than a few ounces of the stuff to infuse them with rich, earthy flavor. They’re particularly popular at highend Italian restaurants, but you’ll find white truffles at a wide range of NYC restaurants, including Josh Capon’s Burger & Barrel(25 West Houston St, 212-334-7320, burgerbarrel.com), which deploys them on steak tartare ($52), ravioli ($53), rigatoni “mac and cheese”($49), gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce ($56), and a super-decadent $55 white-truffle burger.

Yesterday, I stopped by B&B when the kitchen received its first shipment of the season—a near-religious moment marked by careful handling of the precious ingredient and an intense truffle aroma filling the room.

Click through the gallery above to get up close and personal with some massive white truffles.